Dave Benett/Getty

Diana Death

SAS Launches Internal Inquiry Into Diana Murder Claims

08.28.13 10:19 AM ET

One has to be cautious of Diana stories in the Daily Express, which has been running them regularly for the past sixteen years, but today's instalment - that the SAS has launched an ­internal inquiry into how the elite regiment became embroiled in allegations that it killed ­Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed - has the ring of truth.

The Express quotes sources 'close to' General Sir Peter Wall, head of the British Army, as saying that the controversy was “the most embarrassing and potentially damaging event in the regiment’s 70-year history”.

According to the paper, another officer called it a “fiasco” for a ­regiment “supposed to operate in the shadows”.

The claims originate from the family of a star witness who appeared in a recent court case involving members of the elite SAS Special Forces unit. In a letter written by the estranged in-laws of a man known only as “Soldier N,” it is claimed that the ex-Special Forces operative had boasted that the SAS “was behind Princess Diana’s death” in conversations with his ex-wife.

A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Daily Beast that they had received a copy of that letter. Sensitive sections were redacted during the court hearing, but reportedly included claims that the soldier told his wife the unit had “arranged” the princess’s death, which had subsequently been “covered up.”